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Posted on: August 17, 2018

City to Host September 8 Community Forum to Discuss Homeless Services Center

The City of Portland is hosting a community forum to discuss the proposed homeless services center on Saturday, September 8th from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM at Hannaford Hall at the University of Southern Maine.

The forum will begin with an overview of the new model with an emphasis on important topics City staff have identified during their extensive community outreach. It will conclude with breakout sessions on the following topics: the future of homeless services; regional services and understanding the city’s role; what it means to be a full service city; zoning, land use and transportation; housing services; the faces of homelessness; and safety and security.

“I’m looking forward to this opportunity for the community to do a deeper dive into the complex issues we’re evaluating as we look for a new way of providing these critical services,” said Councilor Belinda Ray, Chair of the Health & Human Services and Public Safety Committee. “This forum will be extremely beneficial to my colleagues and I and the community at large as we continue the process of evaluating the current staff recommendation for a new homeless services center.”

“We believe in a robust public process, and this public forum is an opportunity for us to have a continued community conversation as we further examine how to provide homeless services in Portland,” said City Manager Jon Jennings. “This is one piece in the number of processes that we’ve conducted over the last several years, and we look forward to having this dialogue and educational session with community members.”